Meet the Silva Service

Quality assurance from the cork forest to the finished product is at the core of M.A.Silva group.

M.A.Silva works in conjunction with the owners of our contracted forests and monitor the health and quality of the trees, testing samples even before the bark is harvested. Our proprietary cleaning processes have reduced average TCA levels to below the threshold of human sensory capabilities. Our quality control team alone determines which corks make it into our inventory and which are rejected. Their efforts are supported by exacting protocols and state-of-the-art technology.

Cork: our cleaning processes
Over the last 40 years M.A.Silva has established itself as an industry technology leader, developing some of the most comprehensive cork processing systems in the industry. We produce the finest natural and technical cork products from raw corkwood requires custom processes for each phase of the production cycle.

M.A.Silva never uses chlorine in our cleaning process, and our finished corks are free of any residual chemicals.

Dynavox® – All raw cork is subjected to intense steam and pressure in our Dynavox® system, to purge unwanted compounds from deep inside the cork matrix. This effectively kills naturally occurring microorganisms. It removes and reduces phenols such as TCA and other compounds responsible for off aromas, reduces tannins, and improves the appearance and elasticity of the cork.

Maszone®– Our Maszone® system uses not only ozone but the more powerful Peroxone, a combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide, to disinfect and clean finished corks. The solution eliminates microorganisms, and oxidizes organic impurities and compounds such as phenols and anisoles which could be precursors to off-flavor producing compounds. Maszone® also enhances the visual appearance of the cork.

SARA®– The SARA® process employs controlled steam and pressure to drive TCA and other phenols out of granulated cork, which we use to make our Silktop and Sparkling Wine technical corks and Pearl agglomerated wine corks.

Third party verification of our processes and quality drives predictable and repeatable performance. Our organisation meets or exceeds the quality levels set by the leading European cork standards bodies, APCOR, C.E. Liege, and Systecode. We produce and deliver the finest natural wine cork available, helping you produce your best wine, case after case.

Please contact us to discuss the certified cork testing techniques we use.